The Belgian midfielder Kevin De Bruyne will be missing for the Champions League winner Manchester City for a long time: It is a serious injury, said coach Pep Guardiola in Athens before today’s final in the European football super cup against Sevilla FC (9 p.m., Servus TV). After goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, another key player in Belgium’s squad will miss the European Championship qualifier in Vienna against Austria on 13 October.
“We still have to decide on an operation but he will be out for a few months,” said Guardiola. De Bruyne was eliminated midway through the first half of Friday’s 3-0 Premier League win at Burnley. It was the first start for the 32-year-old since he had to be substituted in the Champions League final in June (1-0 against Inter Milan) due to a muscle injury. It was intended that he would play 45 minutes, Guardiola said after the renewed injury. “Maybe it was a mistake,” admitted the Spaniard. “It’s the thigh again, same spot.”
It was the next bad news for Belgium team boss Domenico Tedesco after Real goalkeeper Courtois’ cruciate ligament rupture. The European Championship qualifier against Azerbaijan continues on September 9th, three days later in Estonia. This is followed by the duels with Austria (October 13) and Sweden (October 16). Belgium is behind leaders Austria (ten points, four games) with seven points from three games, followed by Sweden with three points from three games. The first two are at the EM 2024.
Guardiola’s fifth coup?
Today in the Supercup, Manchester City is the clear favorite even without Kevin De Bruyne. In the Premier League, the defending champions got off to a great start with a commanding 3-0 win at Burnley. Coach Pep Guardiola won the trophy three times as coach of FC Barcelona and with Bayern Munich, as a player he won in 1992 in Barcelona dress.
FC Sevilla is on the ball for the seventh time in the Supercup, but the only triumph was a while ago: in 2006 they won the Spanish duel against FC Barcelona in Monaco (0:3). The statistics from the Supercup history speak in favor of the favorites anyway: In 27 cases so far, the winner of the Champions League or the European Cup of Champions, as the competition used to be called, has triumphed. Record winners are Real Madrid, AC Milan and FC Barcelona with five wins each.
